. >> the environment i grew up in, there was all kinds of music: hillbilly music and rockabilly, great gospel radio-- memphis had probably the best gospel radio-- and blues. and i liked any music that was from the heart, that had feeling, but blues sounded like how i felt. >> brown: what's that mean? how did you feel? >> well, i was a lonely kid. i didn't have any brothers and sisters. my dad had left and my mom worked. i was alone a lot. and blues is my comforter. >> brown: for ben harper, music was in the blood. his grandparents and parents all played and performed, and the family has owned a music store in claremont, california, since 1958. >> my roots were always in the home. my mom used to play in bands. she's a musician, great singer and picker. and my dad was a percussionist. and so, they'd have people over every night making music. and they'd put us to bed around 8:00. and then i'd wait until they were really cooking, and then, you know, where they wouldn't be watching for me, i'd sneak out of my room and sit under... hide under the piano bench. ♪ >> brown: harper has gone on